Jesus based his claim to be the Son of God upon the evidence of his miraculous deeds, but one deed was the miracle par excellence. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the centerpiece of Christian doctrine and the ultimate proof of all that Christianity maintains. If Christ has not been raised, wrote the apostle Paul, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain (1 Cor. 1514).

A man coming back from the dead is a staggering claim, but equally staggering is how easily the claim could be refuted if indeed it was false. Jesus death and supposed resurrection did not occur in a remote part of the world, away from the presence of detractors and skeptics. Jesus was buried just outside of Jerusalem, the central location of the Jewish opposition against him, and his initial post-resurrection appearances took place in and around this city. It was there in Jerusalem that talk of Jesus resurrection began to surface three days after his crucifixion, and it was there that his resurrection was first publicly proclaimed a few weeks later at the feast of Pentecost. He was buried in a grave owned by a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin Council, so locating the tomb would have been easy for anyone wanting to disprove the notion that Jesus was alive.

The resurrection of Jesus was an outlandish idea and quite refutable. The Jewish opposition to Christianity needed only to go to the tomb and retrieve Jesus corpse. But when the disciples of Jesus began reporting that they had seen him alive again, the opposition never produced the body. No one could. Three days after the burial, the tomb of Jesus was empty. Martin Pickup

4Empty Tomb Great Commission

The Empty Tomb Mt 281 8

Mark 161-2 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.

Luke 241 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

Great stone rolled away by an angel of the Lord.

heavenly appearance and symbolic of purity.

Guards shaking with fear and paralyzed with terror (or passed out).

Jesus which was crucified He is not here, for he is risen.

Tell Disciples he is risen from the dead Go to Galilee and you shall see him there.

5Empty Tomb Great Commission

The Appearance of Jesus to The Women Mt 289 10

Women who had prepared sweet spices for Jesus were first to arrive at the tomb. After an angel instructs them to report His resurrection to the disciples, Jesus meets them on their way back. In addition to Matthews account, Luke 2410 mentions Joanna, and Mark 161 mentions Salome as women who were with Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James.

Jesus meets the women they worshipped Him.

Be not afraid

Go tell my brethren His description of those who had denied and fled from

Him. A great deal of comfort to those who forsook Him.

Heb 211 For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

6Empty Tomb Great Commission

The Bribery of The Soldiers Mt 2811 15

One possible explanation for the empty tomb is that Jesus disciples stole the body to make it appear that he had returned to life. According to the gospel of Matthew, this position was advocated by ancient Jews in an attempt to negate the claims of Christians (Matt. 2811-15). It appears to have been the standard Judaic response to Christianity even toward the end of the second century. Is this a plausible explanation? Could the disciples have taken the body of Jesus?

One obvious problem with this theory is the fact that guards were stationed at the tomb to prevent this very thing from happening (Matt. 2765-66). How could the disciples or any other grave robbers have gotten past these soldiers? Perhaps the soldiers fell asleep, someone suggests. But the implausibility of that idea becomes apparent with just a moments reflection. If the guards were a Jewish contingent, then sleeping on watch would mean severe punishment and possible execution. If they were Roman soldiers, then execution was a certainty.

Martin Pickup

7Empty Tomb Great Commission

The Bribery of The Soldiers Mt 2811 15

The guards go to the chief priests to explain all that was done.

Cruel irony the ones who were so concerned about a lie being spread concerning the resurrection of Jesus, find themselves fabricating one to cover up the truth about His resurrection.

Hush money large sums unto the soldiers to lie.

This is the explanation that the Jews continue to buy into (and use today).

8Empty Tomb Great Commission

Appearance of Jesus to The Disciples Mt 2816 17

First-century Christians affirmed that after Jesus was executed he appeared alive again to his disciples on no less than 11 different occasions over a period of 40 days. These appearances are recorded in the four Gospels, the book of Acts, and Pauls first letter to the Corinthians (Matt. 26 Mark 16 Luke 24 John 20-21 Acts 1 1 Cor. 15). What can a skeptic say when faced with such strong evidence for Jesus resurrection from the dead?

Since that time, men have fabricated many theories to refute the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Yet the strongest objection to any theory that denies the factuality of the post- resurrection appearances of Jesus is this the opponents of Christianity never produced Jesus body. If it is true that Jesus was raised only in the imagination of some of his followers, then three days after his burial the corpse of Jesus would still have been in the tomb. Once the news of his resurrection began to spread throughout Jerusalem, it would have been a simple matter for the Jewish leaders to retrieve the body from the grave and disprove the fraud. Yet the body of Jesus was not produced in fact there were no remains at all. This one fact is a daunting obstacle to anyone who tries to attack the historicity of the post-resurrection appearances. Martin Pickup

9Empty Tomb Great Commission

Appearance of Jesus to The Disciples Mt 2816 17

Jesus announced this meeting to take place in Galilee - _at_ the Passover.

They worshipped Him but some doubted.

Two thoughts on some doubted

1st doubt would not mean unbelief, but rather hesitation.

2nd perhaps this gathering is a parallel of 1 Cor 156 were more than

500 were witness of His resurrection.

10Empty Tomb Great Commission

The Great Commission Mt 2818 20

The one who came to do the Jn 434 will of His Father and finish His work, it is finished Jn 1930 at the cross. God giving Acts 1731 assurance in raising Him from the dead.

God has set His king of Psalm 26. The Dan 244 kingdom which shall never be destroyed is established in Him. The promised seed of David Psa 893 has been set upon the Isa 96-7 throne of David. The meek, merciful, compassionate, and just one of Isa 42 who became deity in the 1Tim 316 flesh, has now been given all rule and authority. The Matthew 11 son of David and son of Abraham.

GO AND TEACH BAPTIZING THEM TEACHING TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS I HAVE COMMANDED I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS

Go imperative. Did not say wait for them to come or wherever you happen to be teach those.

Ye personal.

Make disciples of all nations. The purpose of the teaching is to make a disciple a learner, a follower.

(Response he that believeth and is baptized. Mk 1615-16).

Baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

(Lack of a response is condemnation. Mk 1615-16).

Teach the gospel, the doctrine of Christ, all things commanded by Christ. Remember the purpose of teaching it is seed producing its own kind.

I am with you always.

14Empty Tomb Great Commission

7) Read 1 Cor 1512-20

a. What was being preached and what were some Corinthians saying?

Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead,

how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

b. What of Jesus if there is no resurrection of the dead?

neither hath Christ been raised

c. What of our preaching and faith if Christ has not been raised?

then is our preaching vain,

your faith also is vain.

d. We are yet in our __________.

e. To be sure, Christ has been _________________________________,

the ___________of them that sleep.

The first-fruits, or the first sheaf of ripe grain was required to be offered to the Lord, and was waved before him by the priest, as expressing the sense of gratitude by the husbandman, and his recognition of the fact that God had a right to all that he had Lev_2310-14. The word, therefore, comes to have two

(1) That which is first, the beginning, or that which has the priority of time and,

(2) That which is apart and portion of the whole which is to follow, and which is the earnest or pledge of that as the first sheaf of ripe grain was not only the first in order of time, but was the earnest or pledge of the entire harvest which was soon to succeed.

SINSraised from the dead,firstfruits 15Empty Tomb Great Commission

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For a small fee you can get the industry's best online privacy or publicly promote your presentations and slide shows with top rankings. But aside from that it's free. We'll even convert your presentations and slide shows into the universal Flash format with all their original multimedia glory, including animation, 2D and 3D transition effects, embedded music or other audio, or even video embedded in slides. All for free. Most of the presentations and slideshows on PowerShow.com are free to view, many are even free to download. (You can choose whether to allow people to download your original PowerPoint presentations and photo slideshows for a fee or free or not at all.) Check out PowerShow.com today - for FREE. There is truly something for everyone!